Shell.



No. 737,964. PATENTBD SEPT. l, 1903.

NO MODEL A TfOH/VE YS.

ivo. 737,964.

UNTTE STATns atented September 1, 1903i PATENT @Triton SHELL.

SPECIFICATION forming pm of Letters Patent No. 737,964, dated september' 1, 1903. Application filed August 26, 1902. Serial No. 121,028. (No model.)

To aLZ w/wm, t may concern:

Be itknown that I, LINDSAY GORDON RoAcn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Fredericksburg, in the county of Spottsyl- Vania and State of Virginia, have invented a new and Improved Shell, of which the followingr is a full, olea-r, and exact description.

This invention relates to an improvement in explosive shells or projectiles used in the art of gunnery. The prime feature of the invention lies in the combination of an exploding means and a centrifugally-releasable restraining device for the explodiiml means. This restraining device is normally active ;bnt when the projectile begins its rotating liight the centrifugal force attending;` such rotation renders the restraining device inoperative, and then as the shell or projectile strikes the target the exploding device is operated by the impact of the blow. volvcs various minor l'oatnrcs of construction by which the production of: the shell is decreased in cost, while at the sainey time its ctiiciency in many points is increased.

This specilication is an exact description of one i'orm of my invention, while l-he claims de iine the actual scope thereof.

Reife-rence is lo bc had to thc accompanying d rawings, Forminga part ol' this specification, in which lsimilar characters ol' rol'oronco indicate corrospoinliner paris in bolli views.

Figure l isa longitudinal scetionol thc invention, and liig. is an enlarged sectiona view showing thiviointrin;and the restraininl.,r means hunting' l'roni tho line 2 2 of Fig. l.

o indicalos the body ol' tho shell, which is made,prclorablynil' cast-iron and l'orincd with an inlogt-ai base or rear end/1.", thus insuring' absolute iighiness at this point and priifxontinty thcgasos in the gun li'roin enloring thc shell and er lling the cxphniing char tin-mot.

l/ indicati the point'oi the shell'. This is preferably l'iv lined ol hardened stoel, so as to he armor-picrcing, and it connected with the bod)v o, by means ol' a joint-ordinii' n', which an enlarged part rj, screwing into lho l`o"\var-lcn1.il;ii the body` o, and a reduced part on wh' 'lhis joint collar f foi-mod of ca z'l'ho bursting in iluA bod)i o., as ini is also prol'ortiily oi i-hc shell is pian-.cd .v aiodj :it rl'. Now ii. will The invention also in;D

,be seen that by forming the nose of the shell 'of hardened'steel orits equivalent an armorpiercing structure is prozided, and by forn1- ing the body a of cast-iron "or like metal the bursting capacity is increased, while at the same time the-expense of producing, the shell -is very much lessened.

Screwed into and closing the jointaing ers..

a case e, which projects forwardly into a eavity b/,vformed in the point l). This case e is divided by a perforated partition e into a rearNchamber e2 and a forward chamber c3. The rear chamber e2 forms a magazine `for earryi ng a charge ol quick-burnin g powder which is employed to ignite the main charge d.

f indicates a closure of thin sheet-copper or the like which holds the charge in the magazinechamber c2, but which is ,readily fractnrable when said charge is exploded. Fitted to be .longitudinally movable in the iront chamber ei of the case e is the firing-plunger g. .lhis plunger is l'orniod with a reduced forward portion g', adapted to contain a per- (i-,uision-cap 7L, and from this reduced portion g," a passage y2 extends rearward longitudh nally throufh the plunger and serves to carry a charge ol. quick-inhaling powder, the saine as the magazine n.

indicates a disk which is lastcned in l-he l'ront end ol;- the chamber /f und is formed with an anvil or liring-point l" on its interior faro. 'lhis disk not only loses the lfront ond ol' the chamber c, but also holds the [ir-- ing-point or anvil in position to bo struck by the cap lf. as the` plunger q :novos l'orws'ird.

/r indicates a nulnbc'r ol' dogs, which aro pivotcd at the points u, (ser Fig. 2,) such mints boinc' at onc ond ol' tho dous and thcy dogs boina` monnlod in cavilies. f", l'orniod in tho caso c.

indicatcs'springs which hold the dogs lf.' v

normally in the position shown in lfigs. 'l and il, in which position said dogs lie against the reduced frontpart 5;' ol' the liring-plui'incr y, and thus koop the lirincwplnnnifr in its rearward position, preventing' its uun'einont for wardly to strike the cap /l against the anvil or bring-point i. when, howcvingtlie rotary movement of flic sin-,li l ns. tink doma t' aro )brown out hyruntrilu n lorooaud lf wholly.' wil-hin the cavity e, thus distingo im? hf plunger y; and permitting; said phn p- ISC . inactive position.

A Haine thereof is communicated through the face, a firing-plunger in the outer compartl move forwardly and strike its cap against the firing-cap 'i'.

In the use of the invention the parts are assembled as shown 4in Fig. l, and when the shell is iired through a rilied gun its rotary movement will cause the dogs 7c to move into Said dogs Will be held in inactive position by the continued rotary movement of the shell. This releases the firing-plunger and leaves it free to strike the point i. When, therefore, the projectile hits .its mark, the impact of the -blow will cause the firing-plunger to mov/e forward rapidly and strike the cap 7L against the .firing-point or anvil fi. This explodes the cap and the medium of the powder in/,the passage g2 and magazine e? to themai n or bursting charge (Z, and the shell is thereupon' lexploded. The bursting effect of the shell is very much increased by constructinpr the body a ofv cast metal, as explained, while the penetrating` effect of the shell is rendered the same as in the best forged-steel projectiles, owing to the arrangementl of the nose l) ot' hardened steel or equivalent material.

Various changes in the form and details ol my invention maybe resorted to at will without departing from the spirit ot' my invention. Hence I consider myself entitled to all forms of the invention as may lic within thc intent of my claims. ll'aving thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent l. A shell, comprising a bodyof relatively friable material, a point or nose of a relatively hardened material, a joint ring connecting the body and point or nose, a case secured to the joint-ring and projectinginto the point or nose, said case being provided with an apen tured partition dividing it into two communicating compartm ents, the inner compartment forming a powder-chainberelosed by areadilyfracturable cover and the outer one by a disk having,r an anvil or firing point on its inner 'remesa ment of the case, said plunger having a central bore for containing powder and a reduced outer end carrying,` a percussion-cap, and pivoted and spring-pressed dogs mounted in cavities of the case and normally engaging the shoulder formed by the reduced end ofthe firing-plunger, as set forth.

2. A shell, comprisinga body formed oftwo members, and a ring detachably connecting the members, a case secured to the said ring and projectin into the point or nose, said case being provided with an apertured partition di viding it into two communicating compartm en ts, the inner compartmenthaving,T its inner end closed by a readily-fracturable material andthe outer one by a closure having' a firingpoint on its inner face, a firingplunger in the outer compartment of the case, said plunger having a longitudinal bore and a percussioncap at its outer end, and pivoted and springpressed dogs carried by the case and normally en gagin gthe plu ngerto hold it inits rearward position, as set forth.

The combination with a shell formed of detachable sections, of an explodingJ device in the shell, said device comprising a case divided by an aperturcd partition into two com partments, a fractur'able closure fertile inner compartment, a disk for closing,` the outer compartment and having a firing-point on its inner i'ace, the outer compartment 'having a cavity on its inner peripheral surface, a iir ing-plunger in the outer compartment of the case and having a longitudinal passage and a reduced outer end, and pivoted and springpressed dogs mounted in the recess of the outer compartment and normally engaging the shoulder formed by the reduced end of the plunger7 as set forth.

ln testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribin witnesses.

LINDSAY GORDON ROACH. 

